A simplified and efficient method for treating varicose veins.

Stripping the saphenous vein and manual excision of varicose veins has been the popular operative treatment for many years. During this 2- to 4-hour procedure, the patient must be rotated from the supine to the prone position in order to excise the collateral veins. These maneuvers are time-consuming and result in contamination, dozens of unsightly scars, and incomplete destruction of many of the small tortuous varicosities. In 705 patients we have substituted limited excision when possible and high-frequency cautery methods to destroy the venous tributaries. Cauterization, accomplished by introducing a probe subcutaneously through a 2 mm skin incision which requires no sutures for closure, affords excellent treatment for the troublesome smaller tortuous veins. The recurrence rate depends on the primary cause of the varicosities and is roughly the same in both types of operative procedures. The advantages of the latter procedure are shorter operating and anesthesia times, minimal infection rate, substantially less hospital time and cost, and essentially no cosmetic defects.